By Staff
Seafood, activities
are bountiful during
event in Hyde County
Staff Reports
The 21st-annual Engelhard Seafood Festival returns to eastern Hyde County on May 16-17.
Seafood lovers and others are expected to swarm this coastal town on the shores of the Pamlico Sound during the festival’s two-day run. The festival is sponsored by the Engelhard Development Corp.
The festival, a family oriented event, begins at 7 p.m. May 16 with the blessing of the fleet at Big Trout Marina. After the blessing of the fleet, the Miss Engelhard Seafood Festival pageant begins at 8 p.m. in downtown Engelhard.
On May 17, festivities begin with an opening ceremony at 9:30 a.m. The festival also features the Little Miss Seafood and Little Mr. Seafood pageants, which begin at 9:45 a.m. The lawn-mower pull begins at 1 p.m. between Far Creek Gas and Grill and Williford Auto Supply.
Free parking will be available at the Engelhard Hotel and Engelhard Medical Center. Hyde County Transit will be providing shuttle service from the lawn mower pull to the festival area as well as to and from the parking areas.
Other events and activities include the following”
The following bands will perform at the festival’s main stage:
Each of the Tiny Shrimp, Little Shrimp and Junior Shrimp contestants are required to have someone submit a photograph of the contestant. A bucket will be placed in front of each photograph. In each category, the winner is decided by which bucket contains the most money.
Contestants in the Tiny Shrimp contest must be 18 months old or younger. Contestants in the Little Shrimp contest must be at least 19 months old but no older than 3 years old. Junior Shrimp contestants must be either 3 years old or 4 years old.
The Lost Colony demonstrations include workshops and lectures to acquaint the public with the methods being used to search for descendants of the Lost Colony settlers. The workshops will investigated theories, new and old, about the fate of the colonists.
Of course, seafood of all types will be the festival’s featured food, but hot dogs, barbecue, burgers and other food will be sold, too.
A “street dance” will be held at Martelle’s Feedhouse on U.S. Highway 264 a few miles west of Engelhard on May 17. The dance begins about 9:30 p.m. Spare Change will provide music for the dance.
The festival is sponsored by the Engelhard Development Corporation.
For more information about the festival or to download an entry form for the Tiny Shrimp, Little Shrimp or Junior Shrimp contests, visit the festival’s Web site at www.engelhardseafoodfestival.com.